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Mixed Doubles Net Footwork

Can someone direct me to a video or diagram that shows the proper footwork for the woman in mixed, forehand front corner to center T to backhand front corner and back. I do not recover well from the forehand lunge to the corner, and I'm sure my steps are wrong. I especially want to see the recovery steps from each corner. I play traditional woman-in-front mixed with men faster than I am, so I only back up for the cross smash if there's a lift; otherwise I'm always on the front line.

Sorry, I can't think of a suitable video offhand. Just try watching some mixed doubles matches, look for All England or World Championships or similar on YouTube.

I think of the recovery from the front corners as being "two and a half steps". As you lunge, your left foot should drag forwards a little (assuming you're right handed, therefore lunging always with the right foot). Then you can step back, right foot first then left, followed by a small skip backwards and you're ready for the next shot.

By the way, if you're right in the corner and your opponent plays a good crosscourt net shot, your partner should sometimes cover it. This happens in level doubles too, not only in mixed.

There are some good video's by Anna Rice on Utube that deal specifically with front court movement. Search for Anna Rice badminton you should see a whole load of video's. I found them very imformative. I hope they help you

The format of each video is a Club player is invited onto court to spar with a partner for a few minutes, meanwhile a coach watches on. The sparring stops and the coach then explains to the player where he/she/they are going wrong and the problems are then adressed. Typically only a few issues are discussed per video so the coaching is quite detailed. The video's are in Chinese but are subtitled in English.

As for my personaly opinion, the most typical issue I see with slow recovery are;

1. Incorrect execution of the lunge; such as the knee of the lunging leg extending beyond the foot (the shin should never ever face the floor). Not turning the trailing leg, leading to a loss of balance. Not extending the non racket hand behind to act as a counter balance. Bending at the back instead of the hips, affects balance, shot making and recovery!

2. However, I've seen some people able to execute a good lunge yet still have poor recovery. The reason is that after a particularly deep lunge (how deep depends on leg strength) you shouldn't push off using the forward leg but instead bring the trailing leg up to provide some support. Then push off the front leg as normal.

If you're executing these elements fine then the video I linked goes through the footwork of getting to the net and recovering.